Bureaucracy and Democracy: Rational Choice Theory and The simple Decision-Making Theory - Essay Example

? Bureaucracy and Democracy Question There have been various theories in relation to Decision making .A close analysis reveals that all the theories seek to address the challenge of making a decision that will yield the best results as per the resources and the prevailing circumstances .Thus , one of the theories is the Rational choice theory. 1) Rational Choice theory. This theory states how best decisions should be made. The theory is controlled by the logics and economics of the markets. Models of mathematics are employed in analysis of trends between the preferred courses of action that exists and objectives. The goal is to establish a decision that is either rational or efficient in attaining the desirable goal. The goal revolves around ensuring the organization survives and the self –interests of an individual. This Theory is neo classical in nature .It connects politics and microeconomics by looking at the complaints of individuals like public servants, and citizens as similar to what self interested producers and consumers do. This theory can be traced back to the times of Adam Smith .He reasoned that when people act on self interest they may end up engaging in acts that ultimately benefit the whole society .Taking an example of a business man seeking to enrich himself. He have to make good Quality goods that are cheaper than competitors so as to increase sales and maximize revenue. In turn the society benefits from cheaper goods of better quality. From this we see that common benefit and social order are obtainable from market mechanism as opposed to the government being strong and centralized .The elements of the market being unregulated to some degree, participants having self interest and the producers being competitive constitute the aspects of this theory. For rational choice, the drive is self interest .It influences our actions and also decisions. From this we can develop the notion of how market for goods that are public operate .People will purchase services and also goods that they prefer. Producers in this scenario are competitive, having self interests tied to responding to the demands of the consumer .We need to examine how this theory relates to authority. It goes against the public administration theory stating the people (authority eg government) are responsible for public service provision and how they should work towards it .This role becomes a function of the market forces of demand and supply and how the interact in the market. Rational choice impacts public administration in two ways. a) It has an impact on organizational behavior and serves to explain Bureaucratical behaviors as put forth by Max Weber (Weber & Andreski, 2009). b) How public services are delivered. It encourages reforms in the public sector c) It pushes rationality in choice as the new way as opposed to Max Weber s theories on decision making (He encouraged bureaucracy) It is worth noting that rational decision making is also viewed as a normative approach to decision making 2) The simple decision making Theory This is the second theory on decision making. It explains on how decisions are actually made. It is also referred to as the descriptive approach to decision making. .To understand this we look at examples of institutions and how they are managed, Policy makers and administrators of public institutions fail to utilize scientifically obtained knowledge .Their reason at times science demands the problems to be put into fragments .This fragmentation makes it difficult to obtain quick insight into the problem .Knowledge for rational decision is not perfect as argued by scientists. Another key aspect of decisions made under this theory is that their very nature call for the authority to reach a decision .The public willingly takes the consequences resulting from them .In cases like this it becomes paramount for citizens to understand that their interests are at heart Question 2 According to Kirlin, there are seven major questions that by addressing them we get an insight into public administration in our society .The Questions are; a) The tool required for collective action at the disposal of officials who have been elected democratically. b) What roles are played by nongovernmental collective action forms and ways to nurture and protect them? c) The tradeoffs government structures built on geography and those built on function. d) How to tackle tension existing between political areas that operate locally and those that operate nationally. e) The decisions that will be set aside from normal politics process hence the use of other rational applied to them f) A midpoint when it comes to leadership competence and representativeness g)How to improve the societal learning process. This could be through making people aware of the choices at their disposal among other factors A part from the questions he brings forth it is also worth assessing his criticism of public administration being preceded by public bureaucracy. The critiques originate from the basic criteria that are a prerequisite for questions when it comes to public administration when dealing with democracies .The four criteria are a)Promoting learning in the society b) Looking at how complex instruments of collective action are c) Movement up the societal level d )Attaining democratic policy With such back ground information we are better placed to evaluate his approach. It is evident that he views the approach to public administration as very important. In a clinical manner he states this approach and outlines the steps to be followed. It is also interesting to note what he has to say regarding management .In his view, public management and its elevation paves the way for authority to accomplish goals that are internal, normally restricted by legislator directives courts and how budgets are allocated .Public administration has been subordinated to democratic polity constraints and its values. For us to continue valuing democracy public administration should endeavor to go past questions regarding public management .Public administration fails in it duties towards the society by it being comprehended mainly as management of public agencies. I do agree with him to some degree but also criticize him due to the fact that even according to him, management paves the way for authority to attain goals that have constraints .So management has its role to play. it surpasses public administration ,which according to Kirk should not be the case, but am of the view that this is necessary .Public administration is necessary for a stable democracy since it leads to transparency among other things. Accountability and efficiency also require public administration to develop public trust. Stivers views the citizen, who is democratic, an essential part of the administrative body. Public administration is charged with the role of taking citizens who are active and both engaging and enabling them .This is perceived as an avenue of democracy when it comes to polity that is democratic and legitimate .He argues that an essential constituent of the normative justification that the manifesto seeks is the active citizen. For legitimacy to exist, an administration must be accountable to its citizens .Accountability according to him needs a framework that is shared .This framework will enable basic values to be interpreted with ease. Its development must be by both citizens and bureaucrat’s .Active citizenship is hindered by various barriers. There must be commitment and community among the citizens .The heritage makes us treasure the notion citizenship is an element of conscious decision .A trade off of personal allegiance for legal rights. The underlying goal is to make citizens bound to the state and those real beings. In summery he envisages an interactive governance system linking citizens and public administrators .This link can be encouraged by law, procedures among other things geared towards having responsibilities shared with citizens in carrying out agency affairs. Administrators should use their power to design agencies to facilitate public participation in making policies and their implementation. One may see privatization as one of the way s of achieving this but this may not be necessarily so .All that need to exist is substantive cooperation of citizens and administrators .Through his argument we see why and how the public need to be involved in administration .They are major stake holders in the state and have to be provided with a means of voicing their opinions as well as their concerns. Public involvement leads to a more stable democracy that is stronger than simply focusing on accountability and efficiency. The disadvantage of this is that the public will need to be educated so as to be in a position to understand some of the technical aspects involved in administration and governance. One wonders why the public administrators haven’t already seen the need for active citizenship and shifted from management to public administration instead. For one, this will be expensive and it’s not possible to educate each and every member of the public .Additionally public involvement leads to time wastage. Decisions cant me made quickly since consultations have to be made with all. Then there is the matter of national security. There are issues that having the public involved in may create nationwide panic which is not in the interest of the government. We need democracy, Freedom of choice but as we have seen it is impossible to have it at 100% even for the most democratic of states. Reference Weber, M., & Andreski, S. (2009). Max Weber on capitalism, bureaucracy and religion: A selction of texts. London: Routledge. Read More